When Calls the Heart
by Hearties1910
Summary: Modern AU: Elizabeth has just managed to escape from her abusive relationship with Charles but will she be able to fall right into Jack's long awating arms?
1. Dangers of the Heart

**A/N: Hello Hearties, this is my first fanfiction and I'm a math person not a writer, so please try not to be too harsh. However, CONSTRUCTIVE criticism is greatly appreciated because I aim to please. The reason I'm (attempting) to write fanfiction is because I LOVE LOVE LOVE this show more than anything in the whole world and there isn't nearly enough fanfiction for this fandon on the internet. And (not to call anyone out but) the stories that get all the reviews and favorites never get updated. I know people are busy with real life so I figured I'd try to write a little something in the meantime. So please enjoy…**

"Charles, please!" Elizabeth screamed right before she felt the back of his hand strike her left cheek again.

This had been going on for almost ten minutes. In reality, it had been going on for a year and a half. Charles had been one of her best friends from her youth. They, along with Jack and Fiath, had been inseparable. She had been a bit of tomboy, growing up in a city where football was everything. By age ten, she could run as fast as any boy in elementary school. By thirteen, she could outsmart anyone on the field. By seventeen, she was her upper school's equivalent of David Beckham. By twenty, she had been offered three different contracts to play professionally, all of which she declined. Football was not her passion, it was just one of the many things she happened to be good at. No, her passion was children. Teaching them. Molding their minds. She had always had a way with kids, even when she was one. Now, at age 24, her world was crashing down.

"Shutup! This is your fault!" Charles was intoxicated and very, very unhappy.

When they first started dating about two years ago, things were perfect. Charles was playing for Manchester United and Elizabeth was teaching at the local Nursery School near the practice field. They were very happy and very much in love. That was until a knee injury ended his career and his love for Elizabeth. At the beginning of his long road to recovery, he tried to stay positive. But once it was clear that he would never score another professional goal in his life, his heart turned to stone and his hand turned to alcohol. The first time he hit Elizabeth was on his 25th birthday. She had tried to bake him a cake and turned out looking like a brick and tasting like one too. The old Charles, the one whose knee wasn't permanently damaged, the one whose lips were always curled in a smile, would have simply laughed the whole thing off and thanked her for the sentiment. But this Charles was cold and cruel and felt that he deserved better than a bum leg and a rock cake. So, without saying a word, he stood, walked over to Elizabeth, who sat across from him, set his plate in front of her, and slapped her across her beautiful face. Afterward, he left and didn't return until the next morning. He never brought it up and Elizabeth, still dazed from being hit in the face by a man she loved didn't dare to mention it either. The next time he hit her was at Christmas of that year. She had given him a framed picture of the two them after they had won their last game at upper school. He had given her a black eye and a split lip. She figured it was the football uniform that had set him off. This continued for the better part of a year, with his beatings becoming more and more frequent.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you. I just wanted-" she started.

"I haven't a single care in this world what you want." He bellowed, cutting her off mid-plea.

Before she could fix her mouth to apologize for the umpteenth time, his connected with the back of her head and she was out like a light.

When she did come around again some time later, Charles was gone. She quietly searched the house for any sign of him until she found him his study. His back was to her. She snuck into the kitchen, grabbed a bottle of his favorite beer, tiptoed back, walked up behind him, and swung.


	2. Heart of a Friend

Now it was Charles whose unconscious frame lay on the floor, motionless and defenseless. For the first time in almost two years, Elizabeth breathed a sigh of relief without fear of retaliation. She headed to her bedroom and gathered up everything that belonged to her. As she packed, she wondered why Charles had let his injury turn him into a monster. She wondered why she had let him mistreat her for so long. She wondered briefly if she had killed him. But most importantly she wondered, as she loaded the last of her things into the boot of her car, where was she going to go?

She drove without any sense of destination for a half an hour. She cried the whole time. She cried for her injuries, both physical and emotional, some of which would never completely heal. She cried for the life she was leaving behind. She cried for her parents who had sadly died a few years back in a car crash. She even cried for Charles, for a reason even she couldn't figure out. The tears were becoming so thick she had to pull over because she could no longer see. When she was no longer physically able to shed another tear, she pulled out her phone. The first thing she did was scroll through her contact list all the way to the T's until she found the name she was looking for. The name who always brought joy to her eyes and a smile to her face. A name she hadn't spoken in her own her house in six months. Jack Thornton.

The line rang 8 times before he picked up. His voice was groggy; the call had woken him.

"Hello?" He said.

Elizabeth became so overwhelmed at hearing his voice for the first time in weeks, she couldn't do anything but let out a small squeal and hang up. Her phone rang again thirty seconds later. When she answered, his voice sounded much more awake and alert.

"Elizabeth?" He asked.

"Jack?" She asked timidly, her voice shaking.

She knew perfectly well who was the other line. She had said his name because it was the only thing she could say at the moment.

"Elizabeth, is everything okay? Did something happen?" He was sounding more and alarmed with each word.

"Jack," she repeated. "So much has happened. I don't know what to do. I don't know what to say. I don't know where to go."

She was in hysterics. The tears had returned as she thought about all that had happened in the past two hours. They stung her eyes as she tried to hold them in.

"Where are you now?" He asked.

"I'm on pulled over by Applegreen on Sleaford." She managed to get out before her body once again was wracked with sobs.

"Stay there. I'm coming right now." With that, he hung up and she was left, once again, alone and pulled over on the side of the road, sobbing.

Thirty minutes later, she saw his black Audi and tried to pull herself together. She got out of her car as he parked his. Neither of them said a word as she lunged into his arms. Neither of them had to. She and he had always been able to communicate without saying much. He held her for as long as she needed. Jack's arms had always been open for her. It had taken years and what felt like endless abuse for her to realize that somewhere along the 24 year road, the boy that she had spent her childhood with had turned into the man who put her before any and everything. Suddenly, her tears stopped. She stepped back from his soft, yet firm, hold and looked him dead in his eyes.

"I'm sorry." She whispered.

His burrowed eyebrows raised in confusion. His hand left her back and traveled to her tear streaked face. His thumb wiped away one of many fallen tears. She had never seen him look at anyone the way he was looking her.

"You have nothing to be sorry for." He said. "I don't know what happened tonight and I will wait until you are ready to tell me on your own terms, but you haven't anything to apologize for."

Elizabeth didn't care. She didn't deserve him in any capacity. She tried to pull away from him but his grip tightened. When she looked away, the finger that still rested on her cheek pulled her gaze back to him.

"You don't deserve this. You have your own life to live. You shouldn't have to wake up at two in the morning to come hear my problems."

His face betrayed him for a split second as the hurt quickly washed over him. He was usually good at hiding his true feelings being a officer and after years of masking his sadness over the fact that Elizabeth had chosen Charles. His disappointment was gone as fast as it had come but Elizabeth was faster. She had hurt him. Again.

"If that were true, I wouldn't be here. You know that Elizabeth. I would wake up at two in the morning every day if it meant that I never have to see you like this." He stopped and his entire demeanor changed. "Why are you bleeding?"

She hadn't even noticed the blood on the back of her shirt when she left. Her overwhelming need to distance herself from Charles before he woke up made everything else secondary at the time. Now, an hour later, she had nothing to take her attention away from it. She reached up and felt the back of her head where Charles had hit her and when she looked at her hand, sure enough, it was covered in red. When Elizabeth was young, she was always squirmy around blood. Now, it was ironic because she had been around it almost daily for a year and a half.

"Elizabeth, did he hit you?" His nostrils were flaring.

She had never seen them do that before. Then again, she had never known Jack to get angry.

"We should get off the side of the road." She tried to change the subject.

Jack, however, was having none of it. He did open the passenger side of his Audi for her to get into though. Once they were both situated in the car, his eyes returned to hers. They repeated the question he'd asked outside.

"Yes. He hit me." She murmured.

"Was this the first time?" He inquired.

In any other situation, she would have laughed at how Jack never truly stopped being "Officer Thornton", even when was off the clock. But now all she could do was nod her head no.

"I'll kill him."

"Jack," she immediately looked at him. "Don't say that."

"How long has this been going on?" He asked.

"About a year and half."

"Elizabeth!" He shouted.

"Don't yell at me. I've had to put up with that for almost two years. Do not yell at me."

His eyes apologized.

"I'm sorry. But why didn't you tell anyone? Why didn't you tell me?" His voice was softer now.

"I figured at first that he didn't mean to hit me. He kept apologizing and I kept forgiving him. After a while, he stopped apologizing. By that point, I was too scared to do anything. So I didn't."

"Elizabeth," he said her name like he were talking to a stray kitten. "I feel awful. I should've-"

"Jack stop! None of this is your fault. The last thing I wanted tonight was to make you feel bad." Her breath caught in her throat.

"What is it?" Jack asked.

"It's been forever since I've been able to say what I want." She replied earnestly.

He grabbed both of his hands in her own. If it were anyone else, he would have genuinely felt sorry for them. But this was Elizabeth, one of the strongest woman he knew. She would get through this and he would do everything in his power to help her.

"You never have to feel scared to say what you want again. I promise you. I can't repair your heart in a single night. But I want you to know that I will be there right beside you whenever you need me."

"Oh Jack," she reached for him again. "I will always need you."

"That's good." He said, pulling back a bit to look at her. "Because I'll always need you too.

They remained in their embrace for a bit, a little awkward because of the confines of the car, but neither of them minded because they were together.

"Are you okay enough to drive?" Jack asked after a while.

"I think so." She nodded.

"I want you to follow me back to my flat. Okay?" He said.

Elizabeth shook her and got out of the car. Jack waited until he saw her headlights before pulling out. His eyes constantly traveled to his rearview mirror for fear that she might simply disappear. Jack pulled into his garage and left the bay open for Elizabeth. As she shut her car off, he got out to shut the bay door. He grabbed her hand led her into the house. Neither of them knew how long she would be staying with him so he showed her where the kitchen, the loo, and the laundry room were. When he led her to the guest bedroom, she stopped.

"Can I stay with you tonight?" she asked.

She couldn't read his expression and automatically started apologizing profusely.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean- I didn't want- I just thought-" she stammered.

He hated seeing her this way, feeling the need say sorry for everything she did. The only reason he hadn't gone and strangled Charles was because he couldn't entertain the thought of leaving even for a minute.

"Elizabeth, slow down," he stopped her rambling. "Of course you can stay with me tonight. I just didn't think you would want to be around another man after what Charles did to you."

"I just want to be close to you." She whispered.

"If that's what you want, I'd be a fool to refuse." His smile brought a light to heart that had shone in a very long time. "Let me just get your stuff from the car."

"I hate to impose Jack." She started.

"It's not an imposition." He grabbed her hand. "You are one of the most important people in my world Elizabeth. Of all people, you do not deserve what happened to you. Getting your stuff pales in comparison. I'll be right back."

Elizabeth sat on the couch feeling useless as Jack brought in all of her belongings from her car. Once he had brought in the last of her bags, she got up, walked over, kissed Jack on the cheek and grabbed the bag with her nightclothes and her toiletries and went into the loo. Jack stood there speechless. It was only a kiss on the cheek but it was the best he'd ever had. Once he regained his senses, he went back to his room and took back off the shirt he had thrown on when Elizabeth had called, not even registering that she was just in the next room. When she entered the room her breath hitched. He looked up and realized why she hadn't come all the way in.

"Shite, I'm sorry. I didn't even realize- Let me get a shirt."

"No it's fine. Really. Don't. I don't want you to act any differently now that I'm here. You've done enough for me already."

She crawled into bed without another word and switched her side's lamp off. She turned to face him. He switched his lamp off as well and scooted down so he was eye level with her, holding his head up on his elbow.

"Goodnight Elizabeth." He smiled and made to turn over but Elizabeth grabbed his cheek.

Before he could register what was happening, her lips were on his. She kissed him like she had something to prove. Her lips ravaged his as though she were starving and he was the last morsel of food. As much as he wanted this, he felt all kinds of wrong. He knew he had to stop but the selfish part of him didn't want to. When her hands started to travel however, he couldn't let himself continue.

"Elizabeth, stop." He said, breathless. "What are you doing?"

"Giving you what you want." She replied flustered.

"What makes you think that this is what I want?" He asked.

"Charles did." She said, as the tears started rolling again.

"Elizabeth, I'm not Charles. I would never-" he stopped short. "Elizabeth, did he-"

"No, he didn't." She already knew what he was asking and didn't want to hear the rest of that question. "He asked and I wasn't ready. Maybe if I had said yes, he would have loved me."

"Elizabeth, look at me." He grabbed her face in his hands. "Is that why you did that, because you don't want me to hate you."

She nodded in the affirmative. She had never felt so defeated in her life. She had been hit in the head and in the heart in one night.

"I could never hate you. I love you too much to ever hate you." Hearing the words out loud made her heart stop.

"He has an STI. He slept someone else because I just didn't feel right about sex yet and he blamed me for pushing him into another woman's arms. I just figured if I gave myself to you, you wouldn't want to leave me." She sighed through her tears.

"I could bash Charles' face in right now. Elizabeth, you don't owe him anything and you don't owe me anything either. What he did to you was despicable and I hate that you thought I was the same way. I would never do anything like that until you were one hundred percent sure that's what you wanted."

"I love you too Jack." She said as she wiped away her tears. "I'm sorry."

"I don't expect you to get over him immediately. I do want you to know that I am here and no matter what, I always will be."

"Thank you." She snuggled into his chest as her breathing calmed.

"Elizabeth?" Jack asked after some time had passed and she had almost drifted off listening to the steady thump of his heartbeat.

"Yes Jack." She answered.

"Don't ever think that I don't want you." He began. "I know it's not the right time to be talking like this but I never, for a single second, want to think that I don't want you in every sense of the word. If it were any other situation, I would have been jumping over the moon. I just didn't want you to feel like you had to exchange your body and your innocence for my love."

"I know Jack. That's why I feel safe now, here with you, in your arms."

"Goodnight Elizabeth." He kissed her forehead.

"Goodnight Jack." And with that, they both drifted off to sleep.


	3. The Heart Wants What it Wants

**A/N: Thank you so much for your all your reviews. For some reason, it's only showing one of them but I've received a bunch in my email. I hope you enjoy this chapter. If your wondering, this story is sort of a conglomeration of all of my favorite love stories. Happy Reading Everyone. Cheers!**

Elizabeth woke up several hours later, feeling loads better. Jack was still slumbering away. Taking this rare opportunity to study Jack's face when it was calm and clear, she tried to memorize every detail, from the incredible length of his eyelashes, to his strong, clean shaven jaw. She resisted the urge to run her fingers through his soft hair and risk waking him up. He deserved to sleep in after having woken up in the middle of the night to "rescue her."

She gently slid out of bed and walked lightly to the kitchen. She wasn't the greatest cook, Charles had taught her that many times with his fist more so than his words, so she didn't attempt anything but coffee. She usually drank tea for breakfast so as to relax her mind enough to take on the chaos that is teaching nursery school children, but today was Saturday and she'd had long night. She sat on a stool at the island in the middle of the kitchen, slowly sipping her coffee and clearing her head. By the time Jack had woken up, her mind was so calm, she hadn't heard him come in.

"Morning." He said.

She noticed he was still without a shirt and although she would never admit such a thing out loud, she was very pleased. She regained her composure without a hitch and slid over a stool so he could sit.

"Good morning, I made you a cup as well." She stood to grab the mug next to the still steaming urn. "You still take your coffee with two sugars and a tablespoon of milk right?"

He nodded as he slowly took the cup from her hands. With a smile he took a sip and set the mug on the island. Looking out the window he noticed that today was one of the rare days that it wasn't raining. He turned back to look her, taking another sip of coffee.

"So what do you want to do today?" He asked.

She set her coffee down and faced him, a small smile playing on her lips.

"Whatever you want to do is fine with me." She replied.

"Take a walk with me. We'll go to the park, get some fresh air, maybe even get an ice cream cone." He said, his smile getting bigger by the second.

Anyone who knew Jack Thornton knew that he had two weaknesses. Elizabeth and ice cream. Chocolate ice cream in particular. Ever since he was a boy, he'd always loved it.

"I'd love to take a walk with you Jack. Let me just go change first."

"Take your time. We're in no hurry."

Elizabeth went to take a quick shower and change into some fresh clothes. Jack took the time to put on something more becoming as well. He pulled out his phone to see that he had a text from Lee, one of his fellow officers.

 _R U coming into the station today? -8:54 am_

Jack typed out his short response.

 _Not today. I won't be back until Monday. Y? -9:21 am_

He waited a few minutes for Lee to answer, wondering what could possibly be wrong this early in the morning.

 _No reason. It's just I'm the only sergeant here today coz everyone else is off and none of the rookies have a sense of humour. -9:24am_

Jack made a sound somewhere in between a snort and a laugh and shook his head. Good old Lee Coulter.

 _Haha, I'm sure you'll be fine Lee. By the way, how's Rosemary doing?_

Rosemary was Lee's sister who had recently had surgery on her throat. She was a singer, or as she liked to put it, a performer, who had found out about two months back that she needed her tonsils removed. So Lee was staying with her until she was back to normal again.

 _She's fine, although it's killing her not to be able to talk. I' m lovin it tho._

Jack laughed again as he told Lee he would him see next week and threw his phone back on the bed. He put his hands behind his head and leaned back, waiting for Elizabeth to be ready. A few minutes later, she emerged from the bathroom wearing a nice sun dress and sandals.

"I'm ready." She said.

"You look very nice." Jack said as he grabbed his phone and her hand.

The walk to the park was short and Jack hadn't let go of her hand. Once they got there, they started on the trail that led to the ice cream stand. They walked in companionable silence. Occasionally one of them would point out certain things like how big the leaves on a tree were, or how cute someone's baby was. When they got to the ice cream stand, Jack stopped and turned toward Elizabeth.

"Let me guess, watermelon sherbet in a cup with gummy worms?" Jack said, smirking.

"Jack, I am 24 years old." She answered.

Jack did nothing but stare at her, the smirk still on his face.

"Yes watermelon sherbet in a cup with gummy worms." She ceded.

Jack laughed as he waited for the family ahead of him to order. He couldn't help but wonder if that would be him someday. If he would have a family he'd take out for ice cream, if his son would love chocolate ice cream as much as he did, if his daughter would have Elizabeth's blue eyes. _Elizabeth's?_ Jack mentally kicked himself. _Pull yourself together Jack,_ his conscience told him. _She just got out of an abusive relationship. You can't be thinking about a family with her already. You'll scare her away._ He shook his head to snap himself out of it and moved forward to order.

"What can I get you today sir?' The ice cream man, Bill, asked.

"I'll have Belgian Chocolate Chip in a waffle cone for myself and watermelon sherbet in a cup with gummy worms for the lady." He said, not hiding a snicker.

"I heard you laughing." Elizabeth said as she took her ice cream from him. "Cheers."

"Me? Laugh? Never!" Jack said in mock offense.

The two of them found a bench and ate their ice cream. By the time they were finished, it was midday and sweltering hot. Elizabeth looked at Jack and started to snicker.

"What are you on about? What's funny?" The more he talked, the harder it was for Elizabeth to contain her laughter, until finally she was belly laughing.

She clutched her stomach and after a few moments, was able to sit up straight again and talk.

"I believe, Mr. Thornton, that you have managed to get more chocolate ice cream on your mouth than in it." She started to snicker once again.

"This is you taking the piss for me laughing at your watermelon sherbet isn't it?" He asked as he started to laugh himself. "Well hold on, let me go get a napkin."

"Wait." Elizabeth grabbed his hand as he made to stand up. "I have to get a picture of this."

She took out her phone and snapped several shots of him pulling all types of different facial expressions.

"Now you may go get a napkin." She said, smiling.

She watched him go get one and stood when he returned. He handed her one, took her hand, lead her back to the flat, and pulled out the garage door opener and his car key.

"It's bloody hot today. I figured we should use the car coz I've to pick up a few things from the shops." He said, opening her door. "That is if you wouldn't rather just stay here. It'll only take a bit if you do wanna come."

"Sure. Thank you." She said, sliding into the car as he closed the door behind her.

As they drove to the shops, Elizabeth fiddled with her phone and the aux cord until she settled on a song. She set her phone in the cup holder and leaned back.

"Oh, I love this song." Jack said has he turned the volume up.

They spent the rest of the brief drive to the shop was listening to Galway Girl by Ed Sheeran. Once they got inside, Jack led her to the medicine aisle.

"You need something for the back of your head." He squatted down and searched the bottom row. "Fortunately, you don't need stitched up."

He had inspected her head last night before they got into bed. She had a rough looking bruise but it wasn't serious enough to need medical attention from the hospital. And fortunately for Elizabeth, her hair was long and beautiful and would cover the ugliness until it had healed.

"Here." He grabbed an ice pack and a bottle of Arnica and put it in the shopping cart she had grabbed at the entrance. "Now, I need milk, cereal, window washer, laundry soap, and steak."

"Steak?" Elizabeth asked, tilting her head a little.

"Yea, I thought we could have steak and mash for dinner and then watch a movie or something." He said as he continued leading down the aisle.

"That sounds lovely." She agreed.

"I've just realized something." He said, halting his steps in the middle of the aisle.

"What is it?" She asked, concerned.

"We need wine. Desperately. We cannot have steak and mash during a movie without wine.

She laughed and grabbed his hand again. She helped him find the rest of the items on his list. When they got down to the steak, she squeezed his hand and let go.

"You go and get the meat, I'll go and get the wine. Okay?" She asked.

"Sure thing." He said and walked over to the butcher's section.

Elizabeth strolled to the aisle with the wines and the champagnes and such like. As she was searching the perfect accompaniment to her perfect evening with Jack, she felt more than saw a shadow looming over her. She turned around and locked eyes with the person she least expected to see.

"Charles?" Elizabeth squealed. "Wh-what are you doing here?"

Charles, who had been making beer selections before he spotted Elizabeth, grabbed onto her arm to the point where he was hurting her.

"I should be asking you the same thing." He snarled. "Why is that when I woke up, you and all your stuff were gone?"

"Charles you're hurting me. Let go of my arm." Her plea had the adverse effect however as his grip on her arm tightened and his face reddened.

"I don't care. You shouldn't be here. You should be at home with me, which is exactly where you're going." He started to drag her out of the aisle towards the front of the shop.

Elizabeth was trying not to make a scene but she knew if Charles succeeded in taking her back to his, formerly their, house, she, quite literally, might never make it back out alive. She started to panic as she neared the front of the store. Jack was at the butcher's section and that was in the very back. She tried to wrench herself from his grasp and was successful for a moment before Charles turned and slapped her, hard in the face. As he regained his grip on her right arm, she felt someone grab on to her left. She looked up and found Jack staring back at the two of them. Elizabeth's eyes pleaded for help.

"Ah Jack, it's good to see you mate. We'll have to catch up, it's been ages." Charles said, not realizing that Jack had grabbed Elizabeth's hand as well. "Elizabeth and I were just heading home."

"No you weren't." Jack said, his nostrils flaring again.

Charles faltered for a moment and dropped Elizabeth's arm but luckily neither she nor Jack missed a beat. One moment, Charles had hold of Elizabeth. The next, he was on the ground, nose bloody, cowering as he crouched to get level with him. The way he spoke made the hairs on Elizabeth's arms stand on end.

"If you ever come anywhere near her again, I'll kill you myself." He hissed.

Jack stood back up to find that a small crowd had gathered to find out what all the commotion was for. Several people were snapping pictures and taking videos but he didn't care. He turned around and spotted Elizabeth trying to hold back her tears. As soon as they made eye contact, she leaped into his embrace and nestled her head in between his neck and shoulder.

"Shhh, it's alright now. Everything's sorted." He soothed, stroking her hair back, carefully avoiding where she had been hit the night before.

He pulled back to examine her face where Charles had slapped her. It was already blinking red and starting to develop a welt. After repeatedly assuring Jack she was fine, they heard the unmistakable sound of police sirens. The officers entered the shop, brought Charles to his feet, read him his rights, and whisked him out to the police car. Lee walked over to Jack and Elizabeth and patted his coworker on the back. They walked over to the side to talk while everyone, including Elizabeth, was still reeling from what had just happened.

"Well, thank you for making today not boring Jack, I must say." He said. "I just hate that it happened to Elizabeth."

"Well it's alright now, Lee. That tosser will be locked up for sure. Thank you for coming so quickly by the way."

"Are you mad? As soon as you said Elizabeth, I grabbed three of my best guys and broke about twenty traffic laws to get here." Lee said with a bit of a smile.

"She is very special." Jack said, looking over at Elizabeth.

"That she is mate, that she is." Lee agreed. "She's one of the best women I know. So please, for the sake of mankind, give her the love she deserves."

"I plan to, I do." Jack assured him. "Just as soon as she's ready. I will."

"Good. Now, I've got to get back to the station and we'll need you both to come in some time and give your statements." Lee said as Jack nodded. "Does tomorrow work or would you rather come in Monday?"

Monday was a holiday so Elizabeth didn't have to go into work. Jack told his friend and fellow officer that they would come in on Monday as he felt Elizabeth needed to the weekend to compose herself now that she no longer had to worry about Charles or his violence. They ended their conversation with Lee wishing them a good rest of their weekend and Jack returning the sentiment. He walked back over to Elizabeth and grabbed her hand.

"C'mon, let's just go home." He said, abandoning the shopping cart he had let go of when he stopped Charles.

"No." Elizabeth said defiantly. "He is not going to ruin this weekend anymore than he already has. I've found the perfect wine for this evening and I see you've got the perfect steak, so let's just forget Charles and enjoy our night."

Jack couldn't help but beam at the woman before him. He grabbed the cart and went to pay for the items inside without any argument. Later on that evening, the they sat on the sofa and watched Love Actually. It was nowhere near Christmas and the two of them had seen the movie a combined twenty plus times but neither of them cared. Jack's cooking skills were enough for them both as the food was stellar, or as Elizabeth had put it, heavenly. As for the wine, they had polished off half of it together. As she poured another a glass for herself and one for Jack, she felt him put his arms around her. She leaned back and inhaled his scent that she could only describe as good wine and "Jack." She knew that she was a bit tipsy but she had never felt so comfortable in her entire life. By the time the bottle was empty, it was impossible to tell where one person ended and the other began. She was sprawled over him or he was sprawled over her. Who knew? Who cared? They didn't. Surprisingly enough though, they were both still really engrossed in the movie.

"I don't understand, why does she keep answering the phone?" Jack said, somewhat slurred.

"Because that's her brother and she cares about him." Elizabeth replied, equally slurred.

"Yes but he's in good care already. She made sure of that. He just calls her to call her."

"Well that's what you do when you love someone." Elizabeth sighed. "You answer."

Jack looked at her at the same time she looked at him. Without saying anything, they both leaned in. They're lips touched. More like attacked each other. They didn't know what was happening but they both knew they liked it. When they broke away, the credits were rolling on the screen.

"I-I'm sorry, I-" Jack started.

"No don't apologize." Elizabeth put her finger on his lips.

"I know it's only been a day and after everything that's happened today, I honestly don't know how you're feeling but I want to take you on a real date, like real couple. So you just tell me when you're ready and I'm there, okay?"

"Okay." She nodded her head, and kissed him lightly. "I'll put the dishes in the sink."

She got up, took their plates to the kitchen, and went to bedroom. Jack had gone into the loo to shower. By the time he was done, Elizabeth was out like a light. He wasn't the least bit surprised as she had every right and reason to be completely knackered. Still he couldn't help but smile as he thought about how the woman who looked like an angel sleeping had kissed him like a vixen not 30 minutes ago. And with that thought, he crawled into bed as well.

 _2 Months Later_

"Jack?" Elizabeth asked as she got home from school one Friday afternoon.

This had been on her mind for the past two weeks and now she was ready to tell him. She walked through the flat in search of him. She finally found him in his, well their, room, hoovering with his headphones on.

"When you see my face

hope it gives you hell

hope it gives you hell

When you walk my way

hope it gives you hell

hope it gives you hell

If you find a man that's worth a damn and treats you well" He finally noticed Elizabeth smirking in the doorway.

"Bravo." She said, clapping her hands mockingly after he took his headphones off.

"You are too kind." He said smiling. "Did you need something or were you dropping in to say hi?"

"I actually have something I need to tell you." She said.

"What is it?" He asked, somewhat concerned.

"I think I'm ready." She answered.

"Ready for what?" He asked, confused.

"Ready for you take me on a real date." She said. "That is if you're still interested."

"Are you bonkers?" He asked grinning. "Of course I'm still interested. Clear your schedule tomorrow. This is going to be amazing, I promise."

Elizabeth couldn't help but mirror his excitement. She was sure this was the right thing to do and that he was the right one for her. The following day, Jack led his date into his Aunt Abby's restaurant. He had called the day before and asked if he could rent it out for an evening.

"Jack this is lovely." Elizabeth was in awe of the decorations. "You did all this for me?"

"You're worth it." He kissed her had and led her over to their table.

The evening went off without a hitch. The food was lovely, although that was to be expected because cooking apparently runs in Jack's family. They danced to the music playing in the speakers overhead. At the end of their date during their final dance, Jack kissed her. It was their first real kiss. One that wasn't meant as payment and one that was between two people who were completely sober. And it was amazing. But of course all good things must come to an end, as was the case when Jack's phone rang. He ignored it the first time because he wanted to focus on Elizabeth. However when it rang the second time, he figured it must be urgent. And urgent it was. Jack went back and forth with the person on the other end of the line, throwing out occasional "yes sirs" and "will dos" and when he hung up, he turned to Elizabeth.

"Jack, is everything alright?" She asked, worried.

"We've got to testify in court. Charles is being sentenced next Thursday."

 **A/N: Kudos to anyone who can figure out my Dilwale reference and my Army Wives reference. Once again, thanks for reading.**


	4. Hearts in Love: Part 1

**A/N: I would like to apologize in advance for how cheesy these next two chapters are going to be. I'm not good at writing fluff. And yes, I did reference a Taylor Swift because I am a sleep deprived college student and I love her. Also, I didn't know writing fanfiction was so addictive. I'm falling behind on my school work. But anyways, enjoy! :)**

 **Part 1:**

 _A year later_

Jack and Elizabeth had settled into their relationship quite nicely. After appearing and testifying in court, they waited tensely for Charles' conviction. He had been sentenced to sixteen years in prison for assault and battery. Jack had taken Elizabeth out roller skating to celebrate. He had expected to be there to catch her when she fell. What he was not expecting was her to be a professional roller skater. She must've passed him twenty times in the rink. He would have been jealous if he wasn't so impressed. And if she didn't look so go in her joggers. He usually tried his best not to stare, but he just couldn't help it, it was Elizabeth. Jack made sure to plan the best dates for Elizabeth because he wanted her to know that she deserved to be worshipped. After what Charles had done to her self esteem and to her nerves, he knew that it wasn't going to be easy to do. Even after Charles sentencing, Jack was still both angered and saddened by how broken Elizabeth was. She flinched every time Jack cracked his knuckles, a habit he forced himself to drop. Now, a year later, something else was weighing on Jack's mind. It had taken a while him to gain Elizabeth's full trust. She loved Jack more than anything, but Charles had done a number on her. Now that he had it, he didn't plan on wasting any more time. He had been in love with Elizabeth since he was old enough to know and understand what love was. He had been keeping himself under control because part of screamed to propose to her the minute he saw her the night she left Charles. But he knew he had to wait for the perfect moment, when she was ready and when he was ready, truly ready. She deserved that as well.

"Hey hon, I'm going to the shops. Do you need anything?" Jack asked as he put on his other shoe.

"No thanks. I'm fine." She replied as she gave him a quick kiss and went into the kitchen.

"Okay, I'll be back in a little bit." Jack said, going toward the garage.

Her cooking skills had improved, her explorations in the kitchen no longer resulted in smoke but at the most one could call her confections edible. Luckily though, she wasn't planning on cooking anything at the moment, just grabbing a biscuit and a cup of tea.

"I'll see you later." she said as he headed out the door.

Little did Elizabeth know, Jack wasn't going to the shops, at least not only to the shops. He was going to the jeweler's. His father's friend, "Uncle" Henry owned a shop down the road. He had gone a few months back during towards the tail end of the summer holidays, while Elizabeth was planning her decorations for her classroom, and explained exactly the design he wanted Elizabeth's engagement ring to be, and now, it was finally ready.

"Wotcher, Uncle Henry." Jack called as he entered the store and walked over to the counter.

"Hiya Jack. How are things?" He asked, coming around the display case to give Jack a hug.

"They're pretty good right now. I've just come to see if the ring was ready." Jack said, rubbing his hands together to warm them up.

"Well you've come at the perfect time. I've just finished it. It's right here, in the back." He replied, smiling his pseudo-nephew.

"Perfect. I'm gonna ask her tonight. I've gotten the perfect place in mind."

"I hope all goes well for you nef, I have no doubt she'll say yes." He said, walking towards the back.

After Henry returned with the ring and placed in the box, he wished Jack good luck once again and reminded him tell him how it went. Jack did stop by the shop afterward and picked up a few bits and bobs so as not to make Elizabeth suspicious as to why he had gone to the shops and returned empty handed. When he got back to his flat, he found her fast asleep on the sofa. She looked so peaceful. After putting the groceries away, he walked over to her and grabbed her hand, waking up her up. When she saw he, her face lit up.

"Hi." She said, still half asleep.

"Hello beautiful." He stroked her hair. "Do you wanna take a walk with me on this lovely evening?"

"Is there a reason for this walk?" She asked, seductively, stretching.

"Do I need a reason to take a walk with my favorite person?" He responded, smiling.

"No, I don't suppose you do." She leaned in to give him a kiss and rose to grab her cardigan and slip on her flats.

Jack went into the loo to freshen up and spray on more cologne. He put on fresh shirt and slacks. When he came out, Elizabeth was sitting on the edge of the bed, playing Candy Crush.

She hadn't realized he had come out of the loo, she was so immersed in her game. Jack snuck over and randomly swiped her phone.

"What the blazes did you do that for? That was my last move!" She looked up to see him smiling at her. "You know I can't stay mad when I see your dimples."

"Are you ready?" He asked, kissing her head and heading towards the door.

She got up and followed him, grabbing his hand as he led her to the front door. Once they got to the park, he put his arm around her waist. The sun had start to set about 10 minutes before they got there, so they were bathed in the light of dusk. Jack thought that this couldn't get any more perfect. He and Elizabeth reached what had been dubbed "their bench" and sat down. Jack turned to face her.

"Elizabeth, I want you to know that the past year has meant more to me than anything in the entire world. You are it for me. I don't want to ruin this by rambling so.." He kneeled to ground and pulled out a ring and said, "Marry me Elizabeth. I want you to be wife. I never want you to feel scared or alone again. Please say yes."

Elizabeth was rendered completely speechless. Jack's eyes were pleading with her. She smiled because she had never been so sure of anything in her entire life. She could feel tears forming in her eyes as she rapidly nodded her head.

"Of course I will marry you." She pulled him to his feet and kissed him like she had never kissed anyone before.

When they pulled back, Jack slid the ring onto her finger and kissed it. Elizabeth let her tears fall freely. It was the most beautiful ring she had ever worn, not too big, definitely not too small, a diamond encased by smaller ones. She knew she would never take it off.

"A year and a half ago, I would have never thought that I would have someone as perfect as you to call mine." She kissed him again.

"I'm the lucky one." Jack said, grabbing her hand again and leading his fiancée home.

 **A/N: I will try to have Part 2 up sometime later today depending on whether or not I get my homework done. If not, then definitely early next Monday because I will not have internet over the weekend. :( (So I will try REALLY hard to get my work done fast.)**


	5. Hearts in Love: Part 2

**A/N: So I was able to get my work done luckily. The reason I'm updating so late is because I saw** ** _Mother_** **earlier today and it messed me up so much that my hands were trembling too bad to type. Also, like I said before, I'm not that good at writing fluff so I've figured out a way to make this both interesting and somewhat well written. I'm going to make this chapter into sort of like little vignettes that each deal with a different aspect of wedding planning and well you'll see… Enjoy!**

Wedding Venue

"We were thinking something that might hold about 100-150 people." Elizabeth told Molly, the wedding planner.

"Perfect. I have the perfect place in mind. Let me call Frank and he can show us this lovely venue. I have a feeling you two are gonna love this place." She rambled on as she pressed various digits on the keypad of her phone.

Once Frank arrived and carted them off to a villa on the upskirts of London, they followed Molly inside. Their jaws immediately hit the floor. Not only was the place huge, it seemed to be way to extravagant for their tastes. Although they had always had money in their pocket, they were simple people who knew the value of dollar. Jack grabbed Elizabeth's hand and let Molly show them around the place. When had made their rounds and returned to the entrance Molly turned to face them.

"So what do you think. You love it don't you?" Molly was brimming with excitement.

"Molly, I can't lie, the place is absolutely gorgeous but we were hoping for something a bit smaller. We don't want some great big palace for our wedding." Elizabeth said, oping she wasn't sounding too harsh.

"No, I totally get it." Molly replied, still in good spirits. "Simple. I can do simple."

As it turns out, Molly could not do simple as easily as she thought she could. It took them going to see three other different places until they finally saw something that fit.

"Oh Molly, this is perfect. I can't believe a place like this exists." Elizabeth said, rotating around to see the whole of it. "I can definitely see myself say 'I do' here. What do you think Jack?"

"I think it's perfect." Jack said, also turning around to see the place in its entirety.

"Smashing! I'll get to booking it right now." With that, she walked off to the side to make a quick phone call. When she returned, she had a huge grin on her face.

"You're all set. Shall we look for a venue for your reception?" She asked.

"Lead the way." Jack said, once agin taking Elizabeth's hand in his own.

Reception Venue

"We could set up a pavilion right here in the middle and have the band play over here and the cake table right here across from the food." Molly had taken them to a beautiful meadow not far away from where they had chosen their wedding to be.

"That sounds really nice Molly. I think you've chosen the perfect spot. Where did you find this?" Elizabeth asked in awe of the wonderful view.

"Me and brother would pretend we were Harry Potter and Voldemort and we sneak up here and have wand battles." Molly said.

"That is the best story I've heard in a long time." Jack said, laughing.

"Thank you." Molly said, laughing a little herself. "I think we should put the main table right here and then the groom's family can be on the right and the bride's on the left. In the middle will be the dance floor and if the kids don't necessarily feel like dancing, the little buggers can blow off steam running around in the meadow."

"Sounds good to me." Elizabeth nodded her head. "I think you struck gold with this one Molly. It's absolutely breathtaking."

"Well excuse me one second." She walked off to make another phone call.

She returned and Frank took them all back to Molly's office.

Flowers

"Since our colors are valentine's colors, maybe we should do pink and white roses in the centerpieces and then red and white roses in your bouquet." Molly suggested during their ride back to her office. "I mean unless you had a different flower in mind Elizabeth."

"I like the rose idea for the centerpieces but what if we did daisies in the bouquet?"

"Oh variety, I love it and daisies are beautiful flowers.

"Don't I get a say in what flowers we have?" Jack asked jokingly.

"Name four types of flowers." Elizabeth said.

"Point taken." Jack replied, making the two ladies and Frank chuckle.

He kissed Elizabeth's hand and held it for the rest of the ride back.

Band

"Did you two want a live band or a DJ?" Molly asked as they all got out of the car.

"We decided that we want a live band to play." Jack answered.

"What type if music did you want to be played during your reception?" She asked, holding the door open.

"We want a band that knows all the modern day hits but the classics as well. We've got a diverse age group in both of our wedding parties and we would like to satisfy them all to some extent." Elizabeth said.

"Okay. I think that is definitely possible. I completely agree with you on that." Molly said as she pressed the number seventeen in the lift.

Catering

"So what is it you wanted in terms of food?" Molly asked, sitting down behind her desk and pulling out a notepad.

"Well were thinking of having like having different stations to represent different countries so people could have variety with out being overwhelmed." Elizabeth said.

"Yeah, we were thinking spaghetti and meatballs, Alfredo, bangers and mash, different types of bread, steak, hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken, enchiladas, tacos, and carved ham." Jack explained.

"And then and the end of the tables there would be a candy bar where people could make their own little take home bags of candy.

"Wow, it sounds like you two have really thought this through." Molly said, impressed. "Well let me get on the line and see what I can do for you two and I will get right back to you."

"Thank you so much Molly, we really appreciate this." Jack said, standing and extending his hand.

"Are you mad? As many times as you helped my brother stay out of trouble, I owe both of you big time."

Dress

"Are you sure it's not to much… or too little?" Elizabeth asked nervously as she tried on her dress.

"Have you gone completely mad? This is perfect!" Her best friend Violet said.

"Are you sure? I don't want to look like a slag on my wedding day." Elizabeth still squirmed in her dress.

"Liz, look at me." Violet said and Elizabeth did. "You look absolutely beautiful in this dress. This is YOUR dress. I have never seen you look more beautiful than you do right this very moment."

"Aw Vi, your gonna make me start crying." Elizabeth said, pulling her best friend for tight hug.

The dress had a sweetheart neckline and went all the way down to the floor. Elizabeth felt like Cinderella but she usually didn't show this much was right though, she did look beautiful in it.

"Are you sure I don't look slaggy?" Elizabeth asked one more time.

"Liz!" Violet cried.

"Alright. Alright…"

Rings

"These are absolutely perfect Uncle Henry. And I thought you'd outdone yourself with the engagement ring." Jack said in awe of his uncle's work.

"Anything for you Jack." He said to his nephew. "I know how much you love Elizabeth and that woman deserves nothing but the best, including rings."

"That is very true." Jack agreed.

"You are coming to the wedding correct?" Jack suddenly remembered to ask.

"Jack, I wouldn't miss it for the world." Henry said, smiling.

"Good." Jack said.

Preist

"Jack! Elizabeth! Do come in. I was just preparing tomorrow's sermon." Reverend Anderson said after Jack and Elizabeth had knocked on his bureau door. "What is it I can do for you today?"

"Well," Jack looked at Elizabeth, who nodded encouragingly. "We were wondering if you would officiate our wedding."

The reverend smile dropped, only to be replaced seconds later with an even bigger one. He was very excited for the two of them especially after hearing what Charles had done to Elizabeth.

"Of course. I'd be honored to officiate your wedding." He said. "I knew it was only a matter of time before you would say 'I do'."

"Thank you so much Reverend Anderson, this means the world to us." Jack smiled.

"I'm very happy to do it." The Reverend replied.

Cake

"How many tiers do you want your main cake to be?" The baker asked.

"Three please." Elizabeth responded.

"What color?" He asked.

"Rose gold with pearls all around it." Was her answer.

"Would you like it to say anything on any of the tiers ma'am?" The baker asked her.

"No thank you but we would like a bride and groom on the top of the cake."she answered.

"What does the groom look like?" He asked.

"He's tall, built, and has really prominent dimples on his cheeks." She said, smiling as she thought about his lovely face.

"What do you want the groom cake to look like?" He inquired.

"He wants it to be a red circular cake with a baseball and bat, a football, a police badge, and a dog on it." She answered, remembering exactly what Jack had told her before she went to the bakery.

"And last but not least, what flavour would you like it to be?" He inquired as he jotted her responses down.

"We would like a yellow cake flavour please for the bottom tier, chocolate for the middle, and marble for the top tier."

"Okay, I've gotten all the information I need from you. We will call as soon as it's ready for pickup."

"Thank you so much." Elizabeth said, heading out the door.

"No problem ma'am." The baker responded.

Wedding

The big day was finally here. Both Jack and Elizabeth's families had come in support for the couple. Jack, his best man Lee, and his groomsmen all stood at the front of the church waiting for Elizabeth's. Jack was shaking with nerves. The good kind obviously. Not an ounce of him had any worries about marrying Elizabeth Thatcher. She was the one. The music of the organ started as the doors to the church slowly opened. Elizabeth and her godfather, Sam, stood on at the entrance ready to walk down the aisle. She looked so incredibly beautiful, Jack couldn't help the tears in his eyes. Her and her godfather began their slowly walk to Jack and she kept eye contact with her fiancé the whole way there. Her godfather gave her over to Jack who grabbed both of her hands in his own. Reverend Anderson began the ceremony but Jack didn't hear ay of it for he was too busy drinking in all of his bride's stunning beauty. When it was time for the to say their vows, Jack was brought back into the present. Each of them repeated after the Reverend. When he asked if Jack took Elizabeth as his wife, "I do" slid through his lips as quick as lightning. When he asked Elizabeth the same question she said "I do" with more conviction than she's ever said anything in her whole life. Reverend Anderson pronounced them husband and wife which was sealed with a passionate kiss and with that, they were husband and wife.


	6. All of My Heart

**A/N: I would like to formally issue a STEAM ALERT!**

"Oh! That feels amazing Jack." Elizabeth moaned. "Your hands are magical."

"Elizabeth you have to be quieter. There are people in the rooms next to us. They are going to file a complaint if we're not careful." He replied.

"I'm sorry," Elizabeth lied. "But it just feels so good. You must have done this before."

"Of course I've done it before. I've done it tons of times. Now shhh." Jack said.

"Well that explains how you've come to be so good at it. I could get used to this." She moaned again, not listening.

"Elizabeth, I'm gonna have to stop if you don't quit being so bloody loud." He warned.

"NO! No, please don't stop" She practically begged, in a much softer voice, after he looked at her. "I'll be quieter I swear."

"Good." Jack said as he resumed his ministrations.

Jack was currently rubbing Elizabeth's temples as they laid on their hotel room bed with her head in his lap. They'd had a wonderful wedding and a fabulous reception. However, Elizabeth wasn't much of drinker so she'd "fallen victim" for lack of better wording, to the effects of the alcohol pretty quickly, even though she hadn't had that much to drink. Between the two of them, Jack was the only completely sober one. He'd had a few drinks himself, but he was nowhere near as "lightweight" as his bride. She wasn't drunk, so to speak, she just wasn't the usually prim and proper Elizabeth everyone knew her to be. Save for the fact that she currently had a headache, Jack had to admit he rather liked this side of her. Maybe it was the shock of finding out that she could be rather loud and explicit when she was tipsy. _I'm only rubbing her head right now_ Jack thought to himself smiling, _Imagine how she'll be when I'm rubbing… other parts of her._ On the other hand, it could be because of the guilty pleasure he felt in knowing that he would be the only person in the entire world who would ever get to see her this way.

A while later, after Elizabeth had completely sobered up, things had become pretty awkward between the two of them. Now that alcohol was not longer a factor, it was a lot harder to "release their inhibitions" than they thought it would be. Neither of them had ever had sex before but they both knew what was supposed to happen on a wedding night.

"Look, Elizabeth, we don't have to do this if you don't want to." Jack explained, grabbing her hand. "You know I've never done this before so I don't expect anything from you. You know that right?"

"Of course I do." She said, squeezing his hand. "But I want to. I do. I just don't know where to begin."

"Neither do I." Jack smiled. "So I guess we'll figure this out together then."

And they did just that. Jack leaned into to kiss her and wrapped his hands around her waist. They leaned back onto the bed without breaking their kiss. Jack pulled back to gaze at his wife.

"I could literally snog you forever." He whispered, smiling.

"Just snog?" She teased.

"Well maybe some other things as well." He joked, putting his lips back on hers.

He had rolled over so that she was straddling him and sat up. His hand moved over her body she continued to kiss him. She paused a little as he made to take off her dress.

"Is this okay?" He asked against her lips.

"Yea." She nodded as he pulled it all the way off and rolled them over again.

He had shed his jacket and his shoes when they first entered the room. Elizabeth's hands worked through the buttons on Jack's shirt and let it fall through her fingers to the floor when she'd undone the last one. Her hands nervously fumbled with the belt, and Jack could feel her anxiety. He pulled back and grabbed her hands.

"Hey," he said softly. "Look at me. Just relax. It's just you and me. Right here."

Elizabeth nodded as he gently let go of her hands and stroked her hair. She once again moved to open his belt buckle and this time was successful. She pulled them down to the best of her ability in her current position and with his wiggling hips, was able to get them off. His hands traveled to the waistband of her knickers and shifted downward at the last minute to rub the inside of her thigh.

"Jack," she breathed. "Take them off. It's okay."

"Okay." He obeyed.

Her hands moved to the top of his boxers before pulling at them and adding them to the pile of clothes on the ground. In that moment, they were as bare as the day they were born.

"Are you sure?" He asked her one last time.

"I've never been more sure of anything in her whole life.

"Are you alright?" Elizabeth asked him an hour and a half later.

"I feel like I should be asking you that question." He replied, out of breath.

"I'm okay." She rubbed his stomach as he caught his breath.

"I'm sorry you didn't.." He started. "You know…"

"It's fine. I couldn't have asked for a better night Jack." She reassured him. "Besides, we've got the rest of our lives to practice."

Jack couldn't help but smile at her words. She was absolutely right and Jack couldn't wait to start the rest of his life with her, his wife.

"Just give me about ten minutes and we can 'practice' again." He remarked, wiggling his eyebrows.

Elizabeth could only smile at her husband's antics. Husband. She could definitely get used to calling him that.

"That is if you're not too sore or anything." He quickly added, realizing he hadn't even considered how she might be feeling.

"Honestly, I'm perfectly fine ." She spoke as she continued to rub his stomach.

"I don't know whether to be impressed at how calm you are right now or scared at how calm you are right now." He said once he had caught his breath again, making Elizabeth laugh.

"Just shut up and snog me again." She grabbed his face in her hands.

"My pleasure." He murmured, rolling over her again.

 _Three years later_

"Phillip, come and get your jacket on buddy. It's time to go." Elizabeth called.

The two year old waddled on his short legs over to Elizabeth and held out his arms. As Elizabeth slid the jacket on him, she heard her phone chime. Once Phillip's jacket was on she picked him and placed him on her hip. She grabbed her phone and saw that she had a text. She smiled, as she did every time she looked at her phone, at seeing the a shirtless "fireman Jack" as her wallpaper. The photo was taken last year at Halloween. The police officers and the fireman had decided to dress up as each other and that Halloween had been unusually hot. Fortunately for Jack, as evidenced by what Elizabeth referred to as her "yummy photo," all he had to do was remove his shirt. Elizabeth, who had decided to dress as a Dalmatian, had bit of tougher time staying cool. The message was from her "hubby ❤︎" as she had him labeled in her phone.

 _Hey babe. I'm getting off early today so I'll be home around 4._

Elizabeth smiled at the message as she carried Phillip to the car. She buckled him to the car seat and got in to the driver's seat. She checked her rearview mirror see if she could back out and smiled at the baby in the back.

"Phillip, we're gonna go to the shops today. Okay?" Phillip shook his head. "Are you gonna be a good boy for me in the shop?"

Phillip cackled happily, nodding his head again as she tickled his chubby little leg and pulled out on to the road. When they got to the shops, Elizabeth put Phillip in the cart and went over to the candy aisle. Halloween wasn't that big of a holiday but Elizabeth knew a lot of her neighbors had small children, some of whom were in her class, who liked to dress up and go "trick-or-treating." Afterward, she went over to the arts and crafts section and picked up a good picture frame. Before she went to pay, she went over to the toy section and let Phillip pick out a small toy "for being such a sweet baby."

When she got back to her house, which she and Jack had purchased about a year after they got married, she sat down in front of the telly and held Phillip, who was still entranced by his new toy. She bounced him on her lap as she tried to find something interesting to watch. Finally settling on some random channel with a show about women with husbands in the army, she turned to coo at Phillip. She tickled his tummy and his legs, while he tried to escape her fingers. They played for another half an hour before the door bell rang. Elizabeth lifted Phillip up and walked over to open it.

"Phillip?" Elizabeth pretended to be surprised. "Who is that?"

"Daddy!" Phillip exclaimed, reaching his arms out.

Elizabeth handed Phillip over to his father.

"Thank you Elizabeth." Shane said as he grabbed his son. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Elizabeth watched as the two descend the steps and walked to the car. She and Jack had decided to wait a bit to have children. They both wanted to enjoy each other in their marriage before having a baby. They didn't expect to wait three years but they knew that it would happen if and when it was supposed to happen. Elizabeth went into the kitchen and and got started on dinner. Over the years, Jack and Elizabeth had had many escapades in the kitchen, some more sensual than others, and one involving strawberries and whipped cream they swore they would do again, but he had taught her how to make certain meals, so she was a lot more confident in skills now. When Jack arrived home, he noticed the picture frame by the door. It was faced down so he couldn't tell what was in it.

"Hey, what's with the frame?" He asked, kissing her cheek as she put the rest of the food on a plate.

"It's for a picture that I've framed." She smiled as she handed him one of the plates and walked over to the table.

"So how was your day?" She asked as they sat down to eat.

"Boring. The only call we got was because some kids got into an argument and the elderly woman that lived nearby got scared. But it turns out they were just brothers arguing over who was gonna win the world series. How was yours?"

"Very exciting actually." She said smiling.

"Why? Did one of your kiddos learn a new word or something?" Jack said, teasing her.

"No, but I did find out a bit of information today." She said.

"Oh really?" He asked, genuinely interested.

"Yes." She led him on.

"Well don't keep me in suspense all day." He said, getting excited.

"You remember how I told you I've framed a picture?" She asked, getting out of her seat.

"Why yes, I do remember ten minutes ago." He said sarcastically.

She grabbed the photo frame and walked back over to the dinner table. Jack was wondering what in the world good be in that picture frame that had Elizabeth so excited and so suspenseful. She turned the frame around to show him its contents and Jack dropped his fork.

"I'm pregnant." She said.

"What?" He asked.

"I'm pregnant." She repeated. "We're having a baby."

Jack stared at her speechless, wondering what he ever did to get so incredibly lucky. She had never looked more beautiful to him than she did when she told him she was expecting a baby. He stood up and walked over to her, taking the photo of their baby, who was no bigger than a tennis ball, and carefully placing it on the floor, and kissed his wife. He wrapped her in his arms and spun her around, without taking his lips off of hers.

"So I take it you're happy then?" She whispered, smiling.

"I have never been this bloody happy in my life. You make me the happiest man alive." He whispered back.

He carried her to their bedroom, their dinner completely forgotten, and placed her carefully on the bed. He crawled over and kissed her again, undressing her. As she removed his clothes, he rubbed his hands over her stomach, still in disbelief that he was going to be a father. His mouth roamed her neck as she rubbed her neck as her hands rubbed his back. Their passion exploded into the night and didn't stop until almost midnight, with them alternating between talking about the future, sleeping, and making love. When they finally were drifting off to sleep, Elizabeth turned to face her husband and rubbed her hand up and down his arm.

"I guess practice really does make perfect does perfect, doesn't it?" She asked smiling.

"I guess it does." Jack agreed, kissing her one more time before they both fell into a peaceful slumber.

 **A/N: So did I psyche anyone out with the beginning or the three years later part. If I did, awesome sauce. Yes, I just said awesome sauce. It's late and I'm lame. If I didn't manage to get you, there's always next time. I hope you enjoyed the sixth chapter of** ** _When Calls the Heart_** **. I hope to update more this week, but it looks like my schedule is pretty packed. As always, happy reading!**


	7. Heart on My Sleeve

**A/N: Sorry I took so long to update. I was very busy this past week. But here I am. I didn't (and if we are being honest here, still don't) know the first thing about pregnancy so after doing a little bit of research, I've decided to structure this chapter the same way I did chapter 5, but this time going month by month (so there is a bit of a time jump, both forwards and backwards). Hopefully you'll enjoy. Also, I'm running out of ideas for titles with the word "heart" in them that fit.**

1st Month

"Hey babe, you ready to go?" Jack asked, peeking his head around the corner, only to find his wife laying face down on the bed.

They were supposed meet Lee and his new girlfriend, Mia for dinner. He had met her after they accidentally and quite literally bumped into each other at the shops and bonded over the fact that they were both buying the same brand of cereal. However, Elizabeth was not feeling like herself.

"Ugh. Turn the light off please!" Elizabeth groaned.

"Elizabeth, do you have a headache again?" He walked over after turning the lights down. "This is the third time this week. I think you should see someone."

He rubbed her temples the same way he did on their wedding night. However, this time, it had the adverse effect.

"Jack, that's making it worse babe." She gently grabbed his hand and held onto it. "I think I'm gonna have to skip out on our dinner with Lee. But give him and his new girlfriend my best and have fun for the both of us."

"No way. I'm calling Lee and rescheduling. I am not leaving you here all by yourself." Jack said, standing up and pulling out his phone.

Elizabeth felt too bad to argue and quite frankly, she didn't really want to.

"Hey Lee," she heard Jack speak into the phone. "I'm sorry but I don't think we're gonna be able to make it to dinner tonight. Elizabeth is a bit under the weather so I think we're gonna need to take a raincheck… No no no nothing like that, she just has a really bad headache. I'm gonna take her to the doctor tomorrow. Thanks for understanding buddy. I'll talk to you later."

Jack hung up the phone and turned back to Elizabeth who had rolled over and thrown her arm over her face. Jack couldn't stand to see his wife in such discomfort and wished he could do something for her.

"Liz, I hate that you're in pain. Is there anything I can do for you babe?" Jack asked.

"Just hold me." She moaned with her arms outstretched and her eyes still closed.

Jack obliged, after slipping off his trainers and trousers, and slid into bed next to her. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her forehead lightly, mindful of her headache. They stayed this way for about an hour and half, until Elizabeth felt better. She sat up cautiously, in case her headache wasn't really gone and so as not to wake up Jack, who had fallen asleep. She went to the kitchen and fixed herself a glass of water. Sipping it slowly, she padded across to the den and sat on the sofa with her legs under her. Certain her headache was gone, she walked around, looking at all the pictures they'd hung up over the years. There were ones from when they were dating, ones from their wedding, ones that were taken in front of their house when they had first bought it. Elizabeth hoped to add more in time. She went back to the bedroom and got back into bed, waiting until Jack woke up. She knew his job could be tough so he needed all the rest and relaxation he could get, especially since he came home putting a smile on his face so as not to worry his wife, no matter what kind of day he'd had. Jack woke up about an hour later to find Elizabeth sitting up next to him, reading.

"Hey hon, you're feeling better?" He asked, rubbing his eyes.

"Yes, very much. Thank you." She leaned down to give him a kiss.

"What's wrong?" He asked once he saw her face contort as she looked away.

"I don't know exactly how to say this but…" she turned to him with a solemn face. "I'm famished."

She couldn't contain a straight face for much longer and broke out into a fit of giggles.

"Why you little bugger!" Jack grabbed her and rolled on top of her, laughing as well. "Here I am thinking that something's going on. And all you've got to say is 'I'm famished'?"

He poked her in the side, causing her to laugh even harder and kissed every inch of available skin.

"'I'm famished.'" He sarcastically repeated. "You're unbelievable. You know that?"

"I do." She replied. "But you love me anyways."

"That I do, Mrs. Thornton, that I do."

2nd Month

"Am I getting fat?" Elizabeth asked one evening during dinner.

Jack spit out the food he was currently chewing and looked at his wife like she had grown two heads.

"What are you talking about? Of course you're not fat." He said.

"But am I _getting_ fat?" She inquired.

"Elizabeth, where is all this nonsense coming from? You know I don't think your getting fat. In fact I just told you last month that I think you were getting a bit thin and that you needed to eat more." He replied.

"I know. It's just, Rosemary gave me a pair of denims last month cos someone gave them to her as a gift but she'd already had a pair and she didn't want be rude-"

"Elizabeth?"

"Sorry. It's- well they fit last month and now they don't." She finished.

"You probably just washed them and they shrunk a bit. That's all." He reasoned.

"Yeah, maybe you're right." She sighed.

"Hey, look at me." She raised her eyes to meet his. "Don't ever question your beauty. You are the most exquisite creature on God's green Earth."

"Exquisite?" She repeated. "Wow."

"What, are you impressed with my vocabulary?" He smirked.

"I must say I am." She smiled.

"In all seriousness though, I mean it. You are beautiful and you always will be to me."

And with that, he stood up, gave her a kiss on his way to the kitchen, and dropped his plate in the sink.

The next week, Elizabeth had felt kinda off while she was at school but couldn't exactly pinpoint what was wrong. However, when she arrived home, she barely made it to the loo in time before what little food she'd had for lunch made a reappearance. When she was finally done, she brushed her teeth and went to drink some water so she wouldn't become dehydrated. When Jack arrived home about 3 hours later, he could immediately tell something was off.

"Elizabeth?" He called, getting no response.

He walked into the bedroom to find her in a restless sleep. Gently shaking her awake, he became concerned.

"Elizabeth, is everything okay?" He asked.

"I don't think so Jack. I threw up when I got home for a good 20 minutes and I've been off all day today." Elizabeth spewed as she got comfortable in her husband's embrace.

"Why didn't you call me?" He asked getting more worried by the second.

"Because I thought I could shake it and you were at work." She said. "But Jack, I'm getting scared now. What if something is wrong with me? I mean, I know the doctor said the reason I had headaches was because I wasn't drinking enough water but first those and now vomiting?"

"Shhh, it's alright. We are going to figure this out." Jack consoled his wife, who was close to hysteria. "Liz, honey, I need you to calm down for me because whatever it is, it's only gonna get worse if you work yourself up. Okay?"

"Okay." She nodded her head.

Jack took off the next day and him and Elizabeth headed back the doctor's office again. He held her hand the entire time for comfort, praying that whatever was wrong with his wife was an easy fix. If it wasn't, he would fight right alongside her through it. He'd already lost her once and he'd cut his foot off before he'd do it again. The doctor got all of her information, including her age, height, weight, and symptoms before running a series of tests. It felt like hours before the doctor returned with the results. Both Jack and Elizabeth involuntarily held their breaths in waiting.

"Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Thornton. You're having a baby.

3rd Month

"Sorry again about having to cancel our dinner plans, Lee." Jack told his friend.

"Jack, for the last time, Elizabeth's health comes first and foremost. A little dinner at a pub down the street is nothing compared to if their's something wrong with your wife. Besides, we're having dinner tonight so there is absolutely no worries." Lee patted Jack on the shoulder.

Later on that evening, as Jack got ready for dinner with Lee and Mia, he noticed Elizabeth had left the door ajar to the loo. He couldn't help but peek at his lovely wife as she spritzed perfume on her wrists and her neck. He finished lacing up his shoes and quietly snuck over to his wife. Wrapping his arms around her growing middle, he kissed the back of her neck. With her eyes closed in pure bliss, she moaned lightly.

"As much as I am enjoying this, dear husband, if you don't stop, we are going to be late."

"We can be a little late can't we." He joked, moving to nibble on her ear. "Lee will understand."

"Understand what exactly?" Elizabeth played along.

"That a bloke has needs." He moved to her other ear. "Needs that involve his wife and shagging."

"Mmmmm," she moaned again, "Well, as much as I would love to satisfy your needs, we've already canceled on them once and we can't show up late."

"I guess you're right. I don't know what Dolce & Gabbana in that perfume of yours but it's invigorating and intoxicating." He kissed her partially exposed shoulder and went back out into the bedroom to wait for her to finish getting ready.

"What am I gonna do with you Jack Thornton?" She mumbled to herself.

"I heard that." He called.

"Elizabeth, I'm glad you're feeling better this evening. I heard you'd been a bit under the weather lately." Lee said, once they were seated in their booth.

"Yeah, we went to the doctor and got it all cleared up." Elizabeth said.

"Glad to hear it. Ahh, here she is." Lee said extending his arm to the short, red headed girl that had just returned from the loo. "Jack, Elizabeth, this is Mia. Mia, this is my partner in crime Jack and his lovely wife Elizabeth."

"Nice to meet you both. Lee's told me so much about you." Mia said, extending her hand to the both of them.

"You as well." Elizabeth replied.

They talked a little bit about where they grew and what they liked to do for fun and even got so far as to what film they thought was the best before a waiter came up to them and asked what they would each like to drink.

"I'd like a glass of Pinot Noir please." Mia answered.

"I'll have a Corona." Lee said.

"Same." Jack said.

"I'll have water." Elizabeth replied.

"Well, that's a bit odd." Lee said, once the waiter had went to get their drinks. "I thought you loved Merlot."

"I do. It's just, I can't really drink alcohol anymore." She replied, trying to hide a smile.

"Why not?" Lee asked, his brows crinkling.

"It's not good for the baby." Elizabeth answered, grabbing Jack's hand underneath the table.

"Baby?" Lee exclaimed. "You're having a baby?"

Jack and Elizabeth nodded, both smiling.

"Yes but it's a secret for right now." Elizabeth whispered.

Lee couldn't contain his excitement. There were tears pooling in his eyes by the time the waiter returned. The rest of their evening went by too fast for their liking and before they knew it, it was almost ten o'clock.

"Well I hate to be that guy but I've got an early start tomorrow." Elizabeth said, gathering her things together. "This has been really nice. We have do this again sometime soon."

"Definitely. Cos when the baby comes, you can say to goodbye to ever going out again." Lee joked.

"Very funny." Elizabeth smirked as they headed out the door and to their respective cars.

"Get home safe!" Lee called.

"You too!" Jack responded.

"I think we need to tell your mom like right now." Elizabeth said when they arrived at home.

"Why?" Jack asked.

"Because, if you didn't know, Lee has this sister called Rosemary and-"

"Point taken." Jack said smiling. "I'll FaceTime her right now."

Jack grabbed his laptop and set it up so that both him and Elizabeth were visible in the frame. He called his mom and waited for to pick up. After a few rings, her face came onto the screen.

"Hi mom." Jack said, waving.

"Son, not that I'm not happy to see you and your wife's beautiful face but do you realize what time it is?" She asked, sleepily.

"We do." Elizabeth suppressed a giggle. "But we have news and it can't wait."

"Well don't keep an old woman waiting. What it is?" She asked.

"We're having a baby." Jack said, gauging his mother's reaction.

"You're what?" She was speechless.

"Having a baby." Jack repeated.

"Oh my god." Her hands covered her mouth. "My child is having a child."

"So I take it you're happy then?" Elizabeth grinned.

"Of course. I'm so happy for you dear." She held back tears and turned to her son. "Your father would have been over the moon. Thank you for telling me."

"So you're no longer mad at us for waking you up?" Jack joked.

"You're excused this time young man." His mother quipped.

They finished their conversation with Charlotte and got ready for bed. When they were both settled, Elizabeth turned to him.

"Have I told you how much I love you lately?" She asked, lightly kissing him.

"Yes, but I'll never tire of hearing it." He smiled, kissing her in return.

"I just wanna tell you as much as I can before I start getting moody and all that good rubbish." She said.

"Don't worry about that." He said kissing her neck. "I'll make sure you remember how much you love me."

"Oh really?" She quipped.

"Mmhmm." He moved his lips to her shoulder. "And I'll make sure you remember how much I love you."

"Oh… really." She breathed.

"Most definitely." He said, in between kisses.

4th Month

"Are you just about ready for you're appointment?" Jack called to his wife.

"Yeah, just let me finish combing my hair."she responded.

"Mkay." He sat on the bed and waited.

When she stepped out of the bathroom, his breath got caught in his throat. For the first time, he could see the undoubtable outline of a baby bump. He stood up and walked over to his wife, tears pooling in his eyes.

"What is it?" She asked, concerned.

"Nothing." He said, wiping his eyes and rubbing her burgeoning belly. "You just look so beautiful."

"I'm only wearing a slacks and a blouse." She said, looking herself up and down.

"I'm not talking about your outfit silly." He kissed her and took her hand. "C'mon, or we'll be late."

Jack opened her door and she slipped into the car, still confused about her husband's random spout of emotion. She thought it was supposed to be her getting all emotional. I guess it's true that husbands share the pregnancy symptoms with their wives. She just hoped he didn't start gaining weight like her. Then they would both be out of luck. She spent the entire drive processing these thoughts and didn't realize they were there until she felt the breeze from the door opening. Jack helped her out of the car and they walked into the doctor's office to sign in. They followed the nurse to their rooms once "Thornton" was called. She took Elizabeth's vitals, gave her a gown to change into, and told them that the doctor would be in to see them shortly. Soon afterward, they heard a faint knock on the door and tall handsome doctor stepped inside. His attractiveness was not lost on either of them and Jack sat up a little straighter in his chair.

"Hello. My name is Dr. Shepherd. I understand we have an ultrasound scheduled for today. Are we looking to find out the gender today?" He asked, shuffling through the papers on his clipboard.

"Yes we were." Jack said, scooting closer to Elizabeth.

Okay well let's just get this setup." He said referring to the machine sitting next to Elizabeth and failing to notice Jack's possessive behavior.

"Ooh that's cold." Elizabeth hissed as the cold cream hit her stomach.

"I know." He gave her sympathetic smile and continued to rub the transducer over her belly. "Do you hear that?"

The faint thumping sound increased in volume and both Jack and Elizabeth immediately teared up. Elizabeth grabbed for her husband's hand.

"That's your baby's heartbeat. And right there," he pointed to a blob on the screen. "That's the head."

"Oh my goodness." Jack couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"Well I'll get that printed out for you." He said. "Well I guess there's nothing left to doubt tell you what you're having."

Jack and Elizabeth could barely contain their excitement as they waited for Dr. Shepherd to tell them.

"You're having a boy." He said, congratulating the both of them. "I'll let you get changed and get this picture blown up for you."

"I can't believe this." Jack said as Elizabeth finished slipping on her blouse. "We're gonna have a boy."

"A little boy who's as handsome as his daddy." She walked over and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"And who is as sweet as his mummy." Jack gave her a kiss as they headed back to the lobby.

5th Month

"Elizabeth are you okay?" Jack asked walked over to his wife who had suddenly dropped her glass. "What happened?"

"He kicked." She said, simply.

"What?" He replied.

"The baby, he kicked, just now." She said, getting excited.

"Well did it hurt?" Jack asked, trying to feel her belly.

"You can't feel it yet but it felt like a little flutter." She said.

"Well then how do you know it was a kick and not something else?" He said, still rubbing her stomach.

"Cos what else would it be silly? Besides, the doctor said that I was supposed to feel him start to kick right around now." Her grin got even wider as her baby fluttered again.

"Well that's great. Maybe he'll play football like his mum then." Jack smiled.

"Maybe." She looked down to her stomach. "Maybe he'll be a goalie so that way I don't have to feel him practicing his straight shots in my stomach."

Jack laughed at his wife's antics. He kissed her, patted her belly lightly, and turned to head back into the kitchen.

"It feels so real now." She said, following him. "Like this is the first time, it's really hit me that I'm gonna be someone's mummy. I'm gonna be responsible for someone else's life."

"Well I hope you're not getting cold feet or anything. Cos it's a bit too late to turn back now." Jack joked from behind the open fridge.

"Of course I'm not getting cold feet." She swiped his backside.

"Oy woman, watch those hands! Don't start something you can't finish." He said with mock surprise at her boldness.

"And why would I not be ablate finish whatever it is that I am starting?" She feigned ignorance.

"Oh really?" He stood up and turned slowly. "Is that so?"

He walked over to her and looked down into her eyes. They were close in height as Elizabeth had inherited her late mother's long legs but Jack's sultry expression caused her to feel small and overcome with desire. Before she could respond, she felt the ground swept from underneath her and Jack's strong arms wrapped around her.

"It's gonna be a sad day when you can no longer do that."She said as Jack carried her up the stairs.

"Do what?" He asked.

"Sweep me off my feet." She replied. "I'll be as big as a whale soon enough."

"You will not." He responded. "And besides, I'll always be able to sweep you off your feet."

He carried her the rest of the way to the bedroom and and showed her just how well he could sweep her off her feet. When they were through, Jack barely managed to swipe the dinner from the oven before it was burnt. They ate their dinner and talked about what their future would look like when their baby finally came in late October. They pictured him being sweet, handsome and charming. Someone who was loyal, generous, and giving. Someone who was easy to talk to and who loved his parents as much as they would love him. They also talked, briefly, about having more children. But that conversation ended as quickly as it began with them both agreeing to figure out how to properly raise one child first. They took a bath and slipped into bed. They drifted off, each dreaming of the day their son would come into this world. Elizabeth could still feel little flutters in her stomach.

6th Month

"Jack, come here! Right now!" Elizabeth yelled from the den.

She could hear Jack drop whatever it is he was holding and run. Through the bedroom, down the hall, past the guest bedroom, past the guest toilet, and…

"What? What is it? What happened?" He asked, out of breath.

Elizabeth said nothing. She simply grabbed his hand and put it on her stomach. Jack's face twisted from worry to confusion.

"Elizabeth, what-" he stopped.

At that moment, he felt his son kick his hand for the first time. It was light but it was there and Jack held onto with everything he had.

"Wow. That's amazing." He continued rubbing his wife's stomach. "This is the best thing ever."

The baby kept kicking for another couple of minutes. Jack kept his hands on her stomach the entire time. The baby would kick throughout the day and whenever Jack was home, he would reach over and place his hand on her tummy and try to feel his son.

"Wow, he's really kicking isn't he?" Jack asked, one day.

"Yes. And it's really killing my back." She said rubbing her back.

"C'mere." He opened his arms.

He turned her around and sat her down on the bed. He started at the small of back and kneaded it all the way to the top.

"You have no bloody idea how good that feels right now." She moaned. "You and your magical hands are back at it again."

"Just relax babe." He said. "You have a ton of knots in your back. If you didn't sleep right beside me, I would assume your bed was made out of stones."

"Well that's what happens when you have football player inside your belly." She quipped. "Remind me to make you do this more often."

"Will do." Jack smiled as he continued to rub her back.

He got to her shoulders and rubbed the knots out of those as well before giving her a kiss on the back of her neck and standing up to go to the loo. He started the bath running and went back out to the bedroom after adding the soap. Jack climbed in after Elizabeth once the tub was full and exhaled heavily at how wonderful the water felt against his skin.

"I know right?" Elizabeth sighed.

"I could get used to this right here." Jack said.

"What? Taking a bubble bath?" She chuckled.

"No, taking a bubble bath with my lovely wife." He responded seductively as he nibbled on her ear.

"Oh." She breathed. "Well I think I could get just as used to taking a bubble bath with my lovely husband."

"Good." He said. "Cos we are definitely doing this more often."

7th Month

"Tyler?" Elizabeth suggested.

"Marcus?" Jack threw out.

"Leo?"

"We are not naming our child after you teenage crush." Jack said.

"Fine."

"Oscar?"

"Peter?"

"Xavier?"

"Nelson?"

"Michael?"

"Sebastian?"

"That's nice." Jack said.

"Yeah but I don't want just 'nice'." Elizabeth sighed.

"Aaron?"

"Daniel?"

"Christian?"

"George?"

"Keegan?"

"Christopher?"

"Ian?"

"Victor?"

"Wilson?"

"Isaac?"

"Nicholas?"

"Harper?"

"Zachary?"

"Cole?"

"Dylan?"

"That's funny." Elizabeth giggled.

"Harry?"

"Jack?"

"Nah."

"Why not?" Elizabeth asked.

"That's too much pressure." Jack said. "Don't get me wrong, I love my brother but he was named after my dad and he didn't make all the right choices."

"I see your point."

"Noah?"

"My grandpa's name was Yaxley?"

"I'm gonna have to veto that one."

"Yeah I can see why."

"James?"

"Lincoln?"

"Lincoln Thornton?" Jack repeated.

"Point taken." Elizabeth said.

"Alexander?"

"Caleb?"

"Colby?"

"Benjamin?"

"Elliot?"

"Robert?"

"Chase?"

"Niall?"

"Ethan?"

"Quentin?"

"Ulysess?"

"That's a no." Elizabeth replied.

"Freddy?"

"I think we've gone through the entire alphabet."

"Yeah and we still haven't chosen a name."

"How is our son ever gonna make a name for himself if we can't give him one to begin with?" Elizabeth chuckled.

8th Month

"I think I want it to be modeled like the ocean with a bunch of different colored blues and maybe some fish painted on the sea so it looks like he's underwater." Elizabeth walked around the baby's room.

"That sounds really cool. We could have the rocking chair in the corner and have a tiny hammock filled with stuffed animals that look like sea creatures." Jack said.

"I hope it doesn't scare him." She said.

"Nah, he's part Thornton and part Thatcher. He's gonna be bloody invincible won't he?" Jack smiled.

"Well, Mr. Painter, do you think you are up for the challenge?" Elizabeth asked with a smirk.

"I'll get right on it ma'am." Jack pretended to bow and then kissed his wife as he led her out of the nursery.

A few weeks later, Jack was finally ready to show Elizabeth the baby's completed room. He would've shown her earlier but he didn't want to risk the paint fumes harming her or the baby. He carefully guided her inside with his hands over her eyes.

"Steady. Steady. And… open!" Jack removed his hands from her eyes and let her take everything in.

He could see the tears pooling in her eyes and his smile vanished from his face.

"You don't like it?" He said, worried.

"No." She shook her head. "I love it!"

"Whew!" He pretended to wipe his brow as tears streamed down her face. "You had me going there for a second. I don't know what I would have done if you hated it."

"Is there anything you cannot do?" She laughed as she pulled him in for a hug.

"Well, I'm not that good of a dancer now that you mention it." He joked as he wrapped his arms around her as much as he could.

9th Month

 _October 26th- 9:13pm_

"JACK!" Elizabeth shouted through the door.

"Yes?" Jack replied from the shower.

"My water broke!" She yelled.

"You want toast?" He called. "I'll make you some when I get out of the shower!"

"NO! MY WATER BROKE!" She heard the shower shut off.

In the blink of an eye, Jack was out of the loo with a towel wrapped around his waist. He grabbed her hand and practically pulled her to the front door.

"Jack slow down. Aren't you forgetting something?" She smirked when he didn't register. "You can't show up to the hospital naked. And I've got to change my pants."

"Right." He said, calming down a bit. "I'll go get dressed and you put on new pants and then we'll go to the hospital."

"Okay babe." She said, still laughing at his excitement.

 _October 26th- 9:58pm_

"Good evening, how may I help you?" The receptionist asked nicely.

"Yes. My wife's water broke about 40 minutes ago she's been having contractions since about 9:20." Jack explained while Elizabeth sat in the waiting room, powering through another contraction.

"Have you already filled out your information?" She asked typing away on her computer. "Ah yes, Thornton, I have you right here. Let me just get a wheelchair for your wife and we'll get her through to the delivery room in no time."

 _October 26th- 10:19pm_

"Okay Mrs. Thornton, you're contractions are moving closer and closer together and you're already eight cm dilated." The doctor said after the epidural had been administered.

Elizabeth squeezed Jack's hand as another contraction hit. Jack tried not to show pain but man his wife was strong. He could already tell that this was gonna be a very long night but knew without an shadow of doubt that once his son was here, it would all be worth it.

 _October 27th- 12:36am_

"Alright, Mrs. Thornton, you are at a full ten centimeters." The doctor explained. "When the next contraction hits, I want you to push okay?"

Elizabeth nodded her head in understanding. The next contraction came about 30 seconds later. Elizabeth pushed with all her might and continued to squeeze Jack's hand. She took a breather and waited for the next one.

"You're doing great Mrs. Thornton." The doctor encouraged her.

Jack wanted to agree but the pain in his hand and the joy of what was seeing inhibited him from speaking. The next contraction hit and Elizabeth pushed again.

"I can the head, Mrs. Thornton. You are doing an amazing job. Keep pushing." Elizabeth gave everything she had and soon enough, she felt the baby slide from her body.

"Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Thornton." The doctor said, smiling. "You have a beautiful healthy baby _._ "

The baby was cleaned off and his vitals were taken. It felt like ages before the doctor finally handed Elizabeth her son. Jack slipped into the bed beside his wife and baby and wrapped his arm around the both of them, overcome with joy.

With tears in her eyes, Elizabeth looked down at the bundle she held.

 _October 27th- 12:43am_

"Welcome to the world, Roman Harley Thornton."


End file.
